HOLOGRAPHIC STORAGE TECHNOLOGY:
A Viable Solution To The Mass Storage Requirements Of Multimedia Computing
I. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The purpose of this study of holography was to investigate and report on the current status of holographic technology. In particular, the author' mission was to sustain the thesis that holography may in fact be, one day, the technology that dominates the way we use, store and access information. To meet this goal the author researched professional literature, visited companies, and academic institutions, performed interviews and then synthesized his findings by identifying underlying themes.
In addition, the author undertook to understand major economic factors that will determine the success or failure of holographic technology in moving from innovative concepts into profitable enterprises To get the broadest perspective on the mechanisms used for moving new technologies from the laboratory to the factory, the author examined the effects of company culture and management, and the effects of external forces such as the government and competition. The author visited one of the major holographic storage companies, Tamarack Storage, and at its different facilities (, development, and manufacturing), in order to observe a detailed cross-section of the companies and their methods for bringing products to market.
2. Summary of findings:
The author' overall assessment, is that although many technologies support multimedia computer applications, the need for higher density removable media is accelerating new technical developments and bringing them to the market. Improvement in magnetic disk technology and significant cost reductions in these technologies are providing low cost per Gbyte storage. However, the technologies to back up this fixed storage and move large sets of data generated by emerging application like multimedia are not yet available. Holographic storage appears to be the most promising of the new technologies to address these requirements, and products based on holographic technology will significantly increase the ability of the user to address this requirement. The largest areas of new opportunity for growth are: Computer backup, imaging /record storage, high performance computing, multimedia computing, video servers, portable computers and consumer video.
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